WHO Seeks 'Best Minds' To Probe New Pathogens That Jump from Animals To Humans (reuters.com) 34
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday it was looking for the greatest scientific minds to advise on investigations into new high-threat pathogens that jump from animals to humans and could spark the next pandemic. From a report: Launching a request for applications, it said that its Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens would also review progress on the next studies into the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that emerged in China in late 2019. "We need to bring in the best minds here. And it needs to be multi-disciplinary," Maria van Kerkhove, head of WHO's emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, told Reuters.
The panel, announced by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in July, will be composed of 25 experts expected to meet first virtually in late September, a statement said. "In the last 20 years we've had many of these pathogens emerge or re-emerge: SARS, MERS, different avian influenzas, Zika, yellow fever and of course SARS-CoV-2," van Kerkhove said. Van Kerkhove, an American epidemiologist and WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, recalled that it took more than a year to establish that dromedary camels were the intermediary source of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) carried by bats.
The panel, announced by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in July, will be composed of 25 experts expected to meet first virtually in late September, a statement said. "In the last 20 years we've had many of these pathogens emerge or re-emerge: SARS, MERS, different avian influenzas, Zika, yellow fever and of course SARS-CoV-2," van Kerkhove said. Van Kerkhove, an American epidemiologist and WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, recalled that it took more than a year to establish that dromedary camels were the intermediary source of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) carried by bats.
Bad Science is the new Standard! (Score:1)
They are proud of themselves with the Covid declared as pandemic, and they are also proud of themselves with the Covid vaccines sold to children and pregnant women. Now, this little game should last forever!
Re: Bad Science is the new Standard! (Score:1)
What are you, some kind of special needs retard?
Looking for excuses (Score:5, Insightful)
I would take this as the WHO looking for well known scientists who are willing to put their names to 'proof' that a certain virus was not modified by humans, and was rather an accident of nature.
ie: get them out of the rather tight spot their early grandstanding has left them in.
Re: MERS transmission (Score:2)
One in a billion. (Score:2)
"We need to bring in the best minds here. And it needs to be multi-disciplinary," Maria van Kerkhove, head of WHO's emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, told Reuters.
Whew! Good thing they posted this to Slashdot.
Best minds? (Score:2)
I'd say that 'strong stomachs' would be preferred to actually test that.
Smartest minds for building bio-weapons? (Score:3)
Re: Smartest minds for building bio-weapons? (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
"COVID-19" is a strain of SARS. The official name of the virus is SARS-CoV-2.
Re: (Score:2)
The "NEW" scientific method (Score:2, Insightful)
WHO has the conclusion. Now we are out to prove it!
BEst Minds? (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
So you're saying they should form a committee?
Re: (Score:2)
So the CCP is looking to develop (Score:3)
Bush meat, Wet Markets, bat droppings in pig pens (Score:2)
There probably aren't enough "Best Minds" in the whole world to do anything proactive.
All you can do is reactive investigations once there are infections, or outbreaks of new SARS or whatever the flavor of the day is.
What about pathogens that jump from Earth to Mars? (Score:1)
Like that particular one that has just about ruined Earth now.
I mean Covid ... didn't do shit ... worst cure ever!;-)
Can we at least have a solid one or two billion fewer children, to calm the worst fever and stretch marks?
(This is a joke, guys and gals. Seriously though, get some contraception. And send some wealth from Bezos & the thugs [there's a band name for ya! ;] to India and west Africa, so they don't need children for pension insurance anymore either?)
Yes good idea, but maybe (Score:2)
WHO seeks 'Best Minds' (Score:2)
I once beat Dragon Warrior on the NES in a little over 9000 hours, does that count?
Re:Dragon Warrior Skills (Score:2)
Maybe (Score:2)
How about Peter Davison
Hopefully they learned to not trust the CCP (Score:5, Informative)
How Chinese pressure on coronavirus origins probe shocked the WHO [hotair.com]
Sorry, I only specialize in lab leaks. (Score:2)
But I do have 15 years experience with COVID19 phatogens according to my recruiting agent.
Re: (Score:2)
But your agent didn't say which clade, so we had to pass you over :-) https://nextstrain.org/ncov/gi... [nextstrain.org]
Lots of applications... (Score:3)
...from the Chinese army.
They spelled... (Score:1)